Change of Meta function

[eluser]adamp1[/eluser]
I have just updated from 1.7 to 1.7.1 and noticed that the html helper meta function now is totally different. Not only have you changed the format of which the meta function is used but you have also reduced its ability to change the type of meta tag.

Can I ask why this was changed, and if so why nothing in the changelog tells us about it. Also why has it been changed so old code is not compatible with the new version?